


A New Day

by Bakasta64



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, New Jedi Order, Post TROS, ambitious, big enough to be episode X, could go in a variety of directions, giant in scope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-11
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23597350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bakasta64/pseuds/Bakasta64
Summary: Picking up where TROS left off we see what the cast is up to and how the galaxy has changed after the Battle of Exegol.
Relationships: Ben Solo/Rose Tico, Finn/Rey (Star Wars), Stormtroopers/Death, Zorii Bliss/Poe Dameron
Comments: 53
Kudos: 20
Collections: Finnrey Fanfic Connection, Star Wars Fanfiction Discord





	1. Chapter 1

Rey stood in the sands of Tatooine, gazing at the twin suns as she wondered what her future would bring. Part of her felt relieved that she finally found her family, but she felt incomplete. Why did Ben have to die? His life was just beginning, he finally got rid of the shadow that had plagued his life since he was born!  
No. Ben died so Rey could live her best life and carry on the legacy of the Jedi. Moping around would just disrespect what he did for her. Ben wasn’t all gone, Rey could feel his energies mixed with her own. Ben put his soul into Rey’s, combining them into something brand new. But Ben’s mind was lost, stuck in a body lacking a soul. He was a husk even as she kissed him.  
The kiss. Rey had so many feelings about kissing Ben, she felt satisfied and yet guilty. There was a part of her that loved Finn, and when she kissed Ben it felt like it had been betrayed.  
Rey shook her head and got rid of all those wild emotions. She knew what she had to do, she was going to rebuild the Jedi Order. Piece by piece, building off of the failures of the past.  
She was walking back to the Falcon when she saw an anomaly.  
It was Ben Solo, alive, standing in the distance in the corner of her eye. He was looking at her and his mouth moved as if trying to say something. Just as quick as he appeared he vanished.  
Rey shrugged, lots of mirages in the desert. Nothing new to her.  
It was nothing out of this world. 

…

The Millennium Falcon landed on Ajan Kloss on the newly constructed landing pad. Ever since the Battle of Exegol the Resistance had seen a flood of new recruits filling all kinds of positions and more supplies were being offered to them. The Resistance was now getting close to the size of the rebellion before the first Death Star blew. Although many people came to their aid on Exogol because they simply wanted to help there was another, maybe larger number of people who saw it as a favor and expected the Resistance to do something for their personal benefit. Most requests were demanding either credit compensation or for a favor that may or may not be amoral.  
However the First Order wasn’t just going to surrender. They still held a firm grip on the core worlds and though they pulled their forces back it was only to concentrate their might. 

The ramp lowered and Rey, Chewie, and BB-8 walked down to see all their friends standing right in front of them eagerly awaiting their return. At the front was Finn, both Rey and Finn ran into each other and hugged. 

After a second Finn pulled back and said, “I have the Force!” 

“WHAT?!” 

“Me and the squad Jannah was in, they all have it. It’s why we were able to defect! No other stormtrooper who was taken as a baby would be able to break from their programming, you either had to be taken older or-” 

Rey’s mind was going at lightspeed. “Slow down, slow down. So you and Jannah and her crew all can use the force?” 

Finn nodded calmly. “They can feel the Force, but they don’t know how to use it. Which was why I was going to ask you if you’d be up to-” 

Rey couldn’t believe what she was hearing, her smile was the largest it had been since she felt Ben Solo’s return. 

“If I’d train you and Jannah?” 

“And the members of her crew who said they’d like to try it when we asked them all.” Finn replied. 

Rey seemed off in another world, she was breathless for some time. 

Poe walked up to them. “Is everything okay?” 

“Let’s go find somewhere we can sit.” 

The three of them moved to sit at a table set up with three chairs. Chewie had stayed to optimize the ship now that he finally had the time, it’d taken quite a beating from their adventures a few days ago. He would’ve repaired it sooner but the deaths of Leia and Ben had left him depressed. But now he felt ready to do stuff again, the Resistance needed him. So he worked on the Falcon to distract his mind. Rey looked around at all the new buildings they put twogether. The forest now had cleared paths and large landing pads where their fleet was maintained. Where only the Tantive IV and some fighters rested now they had ships of all kinds, troop transports, light freighters, and other warships. To think that was just the ships not out on a mission. 

Rey sat on the bench next to Finn and Poe and Rose sat on the other side. C-3PO and R2 stood close by with BB-8 and D-O. 

Rey decided to break the ice. “The Resistance has grown so much in the month I’ve been away.” 

Poe showed that smug grin of his. “I know, ever since Exegol the galaxy has finally started fighting the First Order. We’ve got more people backing this cause than even when the New Republic was still around! Having a Jedi Knight trained by the hero Luke Skywalker himself is definitely a major draw for people!” 

Rey blushed and shook her head. “I’m not a Jedi Knight yet, and Luke didn’t train me that much.” 

Finn shook his head. “Not a Jedi Knight? You defeated Palpatine, the last remaining Sith!” 

“It was all the Jedi of the past who gave me the strength, I just was their means to do it.” 

“Stop degrading yourself, Rey. I know you have everything it takes to be a Jedi, Luke and Leia knew it, and Ben knew it. Inside you know it too.” 

Rey thought, Finn was right, the galaxy needed the Jedi back. She was going to find a way to bring them back. 

“Where should we start training? For the Force sensitives, I mean.” 

“Oh, so you’re in a hurry now?” Finn replied. 

Rey grinned. “Yeah. At first I wasn’t sure that I was ready to train other in the ways of the force, but what you said made me realize that everything my surrogate parents and Ben did was so that I could bring back to Jedi. So even though I may not feel ready, I’ll figure it out eventually. I was thinking of starting out on Ach-to, since it’s so connected to the force. We’d need to fix it up a bit though. Add a comm tower, lights, that sort of thing.” 

“Wow… I’m gonna be the one of the first new Jedi.” Finn said awestruckingly. 

“Don’t let it go to your head, Padawan.” Said Rey, unable to hide her excitement of training with Finn. “Also call me Rey Skywalker.” 

“I like it, the student taking the name of her master. Well, for you Luke and Leia would be more like your parental figures. Leia always was glad to have you by her side…” Poe said, trailing off into thoughts of Leia’s death. 

Finn tried to cheer Poe up. “Leia entrusted you to carry on what she started, she’d be proud if she were still here.” 

“Leader? Some leader I turned out to be.” 

Rey put a hand on Poe’s shoulder. “If it weren’t for you the Battle of Exegol never would have succeeded.” 

Poe brushed Rey off. “I got people killed, Snap died because of me! I couldn’t even tell Wedge what happened, he had to find out on his own! I have no right to call myself the leader of Black Squadron let alone the entire damn Resistance!” 

Rey and Finn let Poe calm himself down. 

Poe took a few deep breaths. “Sorry. I think we just need to get used to this new world we’ve found ourselves in. It may suck but it’s a helluva lot better than nothing.” 

They all nodded sagely and Rey, Finn, and Chewie went to gather their things for the journey to Ach-to. Rey considered telling them about her vision of Ben but figured there was no need to disturb them. She told everyone about Ben Solo’s sacrifice when she got back from Exegol, her friends believed her but only Finn tried to understand his plight. Finn was the one person who was able to sympathise with Ben, but even he wasn’t ready to forgive him. Rey didn’t take it personally, knowing how much pain he caused she knew why people wouldn’t care whether he made a split turn to the light, hell, behind her back people celebrated his death. Poe at least tried to convince them to party only when Rey wasn’t in earshot. 

In twenty minutes they were all packed up and ready. Poe told them that Jannah and her squad were at a small skirmish with the First Order over a group of troopers that had defected with intel on their supply lines and hid in an uninhabited planet. They signaled the Resistance to come pick them up and Jannah quickly went to help, along with Resistance back up. 

“How’s her mission on Bigiin going?” Finn asked Poe as they strode through the base to the Falcon. 

“Could be better. The First Order’s got them in a stalemate, I was going to send another force to back them up and get them out of there before the First Order gets reinforcements.” He smiled. “But now I can conserve troops and send out a Jedi and Jedilet to get the job done.” 

Finn cringed. “Please don’t call me ‘Jedilet” ever again.” 

“Certainly Jedi Jr.” Poe said, slapping Finn on the back. 

Rey leaned towards Finn’s ear. “He’s trying to be sarcastic but he doesn't remember what a untrained Jedi is called.” 

Finn giggled. 

“I do too! Padadon or younglet, right?” 

Rey laughed and Finn facepalmed. 

“That was closer than I expected!” Rey commented. 

“Shut up.” 

The trio was now reaching the Falcon. Chewie, C3-PO and R2 were waiting for them. The droids helped Rey translate and preserve the sacred texts and had wanted to help Rey build the temple. When everything was set and they were ready to take off they wanted one last goodbye. 

“See you Jedilet. When I see you next you better be able to do all kinds of tricks.” 

Finn hugged Poe. “Don’t win the war until I come back.” 

“Now’s the time to tell her about the secret.” Poe whispered. 

Finn let go and shook his head slightly. 

BB-8 beeped a school lecture to Rey. 

“I know, I know.” Rey said, crouching down, she patted him on the head and then stood up. 

Rey and Finn boarded the Falcon and went off to Bigiin to back up the future students of the force. 

… 

On the planet Coruscant, in the building that was once the Jedi Temple the First Order has made it into their new headquarters. In the Grand council tower a woman in black with a grey hood stands watching the skyline filled with Star Destroyers. Her fiery red hair matches the red banners of the First Order’s insignia, but in the center is the Sith Hex Charm. On her belt lies an ancient weapon.  
Grand Moff Bleak, a young man who carried himself like an aged veteran comes in with a datapad, clicking his boots and saluting. 

“Ma’m. We’ve been informed the Jedi and the traitor Finn has left for Bigiin.” 

She turned around, showing her teal eyes shine with interest. “Good. Get my shuttle ready, now.” 

“Yes, Ma’m.” 

It was time to execute her last order.


	2. Reinforcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn and Rey have a moment together and Jannah is pinned down by the First Order!

In the long path through hyperspace Finn asked Rey more questions about the force than ever. Rey teased him with snippets but had already decided to start teaching her students at the same point. She didn’t want to train anyone earlier than anyone else if she could help it.   
Finn sat on the seats around the dejarik table thinking about Ben Solo. Rey had told her Ben’s full story when they returned to Ajon Kloss. She told him about how Luke’s instincts to stop the events he saw in his vision had inadvertently caused Ben to turn to the dark side, how Palpatine used him as a puppet his whole life, how he felt his parents had abandoned him and his motives for becoming the Supreme Leader. Finally she told Finn that Leia’s final act had been reaching out to Ben and causing him to be Ben Solo again. Ben had gone to Exegol and defeated the Knights of Ren, then gave his life to revive Rey.   
One lesson Rose had thought Finn was to focus on what you love rather than what you hate. Although Ben Solo had done terrible things that he could never unassociate with him, he had also brought Rey back from death. If Rey had died for good, he would be broken forever. Rey meant the galaxy to him, so even though Kylo Ren might have scarred him on Starkiller Base, he could forgive Ben because he’d saved the thing he loved the most.   
Thinking about it now, Ben Solo was a product of being someone else’s puppet, just like he was once the First Order’s puppet. Poe once delivered spice that would go on to ruin some poor addict’s life, but Poe turned his life around and joined the New Republic navy.   
No one was clean of darkness, it’s how someone changes because of their darkness that truly mattered.   
Finn got a sick feeling in his stomach knowing that Rey and Ben had kissed, it felt like part of him was losing something. But he shoved those feelings aside. If Rey felt feelings towards Ben instead of him then he wasn’t going to throw a fit. He wasn’t about to get jealous over a man who lost his life dying to save the thing Finn loved. 

“Hey, Finn.” Rey’s greeting snapped him out of his contemplation. 

“Oh- Hi. I was just ah, thinking.” 

Rey sat down next to him. “About what?” 

They were the only two people in the room, save for the entire extended family of some porgs. They sat on the same couch but there was a distance between them that felt unnatural. 

Finn hesitated whether he should mention him but decided that Rey had been lied to enough. “About Ben… And you… and-” 

“And the kiss” Rey asked solemnly. 

Finn faintly grinned. “And the kiss. Was it... real? I mean was it a heat of the moment thing- I mean if it was like a serious kiss that’s great, I’m happy for you- I mean, not happy that he’s, you know.” 

Rey took a long time to answer, she swallowed down a heavy lump in her throat and looked around in a daze. Finn gave her all the time she needed. That’s one thing she loved about Finn, he might not fully understand everything she’s going through, but he always knows how best to treat her. His compassion and sympathy for living beings was to her Finn’s most defining feature. 

“It… I thought it was a real kiss at the time but now… I don’t know.” 

Finn reached out and held Rey’s hand. “That’s okay. It’s okay to not know, and it’s okay if you really did love him.” 

Rey blushed then gave a playful smirk. “From your point of view, it’d be more than okay if I loved you. Admit it.” 

Finn blushed as red as the core of Crait, luckily for him Chewie’s barks were heard from the cockpit. 

“Sounds like we’re coming out of hyperspace.” Finn remarked awkwardly. 

They went to the cockpit and took their seats, Rey piloting the ship, Finn behind him. The Millennium Falcon flew down to the atmosphere of the green planet. When they got close to the ground they could see the flashes of blue and red blaster bolts. 

“They’re holed up in that building!” Rey said, turning the ship to touch down near the encampment. 

The Falcon landed and the ramp lowered with steam billowing out. Rey, Finn, and a Chewbacca ran towards where the fighting was taking place. 

… 

It was ironic, really, stormtroopers locked in combat with other stormtroopers. Jannah fired shots from her bow at the trooper at the turret, missed, again. One of the new defects fired at a trooper that held the exact same blaster and hit his arm. Another one took his place and fired back. In an hour he’d be healed by bacta and get back in the fight.   
Then in the distance Jannah heard the roaring of a ship landing. 

“We have reinforcements!” Jannah called out to her group. 

“About time!” Forten said. 

“It’s the Falcon!” yelled Jayelle, looking into her Microbinoculars. 

Jannah smiled wider than when she’d first met Lando. They’d still had yet to go find her parents, but helping her fellow defects escape the First Order was more important. She went to greet their saviors while one of the ex-stormtroopers took her place holding the line. 

… 

Finn saw Jannah running towards them in the distance. 

“Hello?!” Jannah called out. 

Finn waved both arms over his head. “Over here!” 

“Finn!” Jannah dashed over to where the group stood near the Falcon and ran into a hug with Finn. 

“It’s been a while, Jannah.” Rey said, embracing the two of them. 

Jannah laughed. “You don’t know half of it!” 

Rey smiled sadly. “Trust me, you’re not the only one whose been through a rough spot.” 

They let each other go and Finn, knowing exactly what Rey was thinking of, changed the subject. “We heard the First Order’s got you pinned down. We’re here to help, and to help you with the, uh, Force stuff.” 

“No kriffing way!” Jannah said, mouth agape. 

Rey put her hand on Jannah’s shoulders. “You have the Force, now I can sense it clearly. I’ve decided it was time to get off my butt and rebuild the Jedi Order to what it used to be.”


	3. The Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn, Rey, and Jannah plot a ambush of the First Order forces.

Jannah returned to the battlefield and everyone was staring at her with high expectations. Jayelle almost had to look through her binocs to confirm to herself that she was alone. 

“Where are all of those reinforcements you talked about?” She said. 

Jannah gave a wide grin. “Oh, you’ll see.” 

One of the new defects, a young man stopped shooting at the troopers taking cover behind a large tree with roots that spread over the ground like cords. “Did we get any reinforcements?” He asked, failing to hide the shakiness in his voice. 

“Don’t worry, they came. They’re just waiting for the plan to fall in place. Jayelle, do you have some of those flash grenades I sent you?” Jannah said. 

Jayelle nodded yes, clutching a small bag. 

“Great. On my mark, throw all of them. We need to blind every buckethead here. Then… we can just sit back and watch.” 

Forten, Jayelle, and the others looked at her, confused as to what Jannah had planned. 

… 

Finn checked his blaster and turned the safety off. “Alright, when the stormtroopers get blinded we rush in and do all that cool Jedi stuff, except one problem: I don’t know the first thing about Jedi stuff!” 

Rey and Finn were traversing the thick woods around where the battle was taking place. When they were behind enemy lines they’d signal Jannah to throw the flash detonators and they’d attack them from the last place they’d expect. There were too many to take out if just Jannah and her crew used the flash grenades, and not seeing your enemy is not a problem if they can only come at you from one direction. With their firepower Jannah wouldn’t stand a chance. They couldn’t spend any members sneaking around the stormtroopers, Jannah hardly had any time to say hello and tell them the plan she’d come up with. Even if she could the First Order would notice the missing person and expect an ambush, but new people they didn’t know know? Definitely better. They’d just expect more troops and supplies, not something as risky as this. At least they hoped so. 

Rey looked back at Finn. “You don’t need any special powers, the force tells you what you need to do if you listen to it. Act on your instincts, feelings telling you what you need to do. Most important is to trust yourself. I think you know what you’re doing, you just need to stop doubting yourself and do it.” 

Finn took a deep breath then exhaled. “Instincts, focus on my instincts, act on my feelings. Like when I was fighting Kylo Ren! I wasn’t really thinking about how I had never used a lightsaber, I just… focused on wanting to protect you. It was like, breathing, it was automatic. Of course, I couldn’t keep that feeling up for long, but I did it…” 

Rey wasn’t listening to him anymore. She was sitting down staring off at the sky with a dazed and sad expression on her face. 

Sudden realization dawned on Finn. “Oh. I-I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned him.” 

Rey snapped out of her trance and stood up. “It’s okay. I’m going to need to get out of this mood I’m in if I’m going to train you guys. I guess… I still haven’t fully accepted that he’s dead. On Tatooine I- never mind.” 

Finn grabbed Rey’s shoulder tightly. “Tell me, no more secrets, no more lies. Stop worrying if I’ll understand or if I’ll suddenly change the way I feel about you. No matter what you’re going through you’re not alone. Even if no one understands you we’ll always sympathize with you. Trust your friends, please.” 

“On Tatooine I saw Ben standing there like a ghost. Not a force ghost, it was like he was there. His mouth was moving, he was talking to me!” Rey was holding back tears. “It had to have been a heat induced hallucination, but it felt so real! I think I’m going insane!” 

Finn carefully thought out his next words. “You’re not insane. When Ben vanished, did it feel like he died?” 

Rey’s eyes widened but still had the same broken look. “No… It didn’t feel like he passed into the force. It was like, he was there and then he just disappeared into the force. It wasn’t a gradual thing, all his life force went away at once. His last words were- no. Impossible!” 

“What were they?” Finn asked. 

“Nobody’s ever really gone.” Rey said, tears finally falling down her cheek. 

“Well, it’s almost time for us to set the plan in motion. For now, trust that he’s right. Maybe Ben’s far away, so those connections you two have don’t have good- force reception.” Finn said, smiling despite himself at him seriously saying ‘force reception’. 

Rey smiled weakly too, the idea cheered her up a little, however improbable as it was. She held onto it as she and Finn rushed to the ambush position, they gave Jannah the signal and she smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s coming along slowly but I have a lot of ideas! I still can’t believe this has so many views! I’m gonna try my best to not disappoint you! Thanks for all the feedback and thank you for reading!


	4. Buckethead Bout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Finn ambush the front lines of the First Order!

The stormtroopers held their position firmly, each trooper was exactly where they should be, most firing at the Resistance scum while others stood on guard. This stalemate was dragging on for an eternity, they took shifts and remained focused. They feared that they’d have to win by wearing them down slowly until they finally gave you until finally command sent the reinforcements they’d asked for. The news spread quickly that a shuttle was sent carrying enough troops to put a quicker end to the conflict, hell, apparently they’re sending the assassin too. Typical high command, always going a little bit overboard for every situation. You’d think she’d have more pressing matters to attend to than this, though with a Force user you never know what tiny thing they’ll foresee that’s of vital importance.   
A stormtrooper’s job was to follow orders not ask questions.   
Suddenly something landed in the middle of a pair of troopers firing at the rebels, then another thing fell nearby other men. About a dozen and a half small objects fell at the feet of the stormtroopers position on the frontlines. In the next moments they went off, engulfing everything in a white haze. 

… 

Rey jumped onto the front lines of the First Order. She rolled and ignited her yellow lightsaber, dispatching the three stormtroopers she landed next to in a fluidic series of slashes before they could even react. Finn jumped soon after, rolling into a crouch before quickly throwing a grenade at a quartet of troopers and shifting to blast three troopers with pinpoint accuracy. It was then that the stormtroopers caught on to the fact that they were under attack.   
The blind stormtroopers fired wildly around them, as orders were being thrown around. It was every man for himself as they were taken out one by one.   
Rey swiftly moved to each trooper and cut them down, blocking the occasional laser that came her way. Meanwhile Finn dashed about firing shots at the troopers left from Rey’s assault, ducking and dodging fire while remaining calm, his awareness of his surroundings unconsciously amplified by the light side of the force. Letting his base instincts take over he was almost as beautiful to watch as Rey.   
Jannah and the others watched in awe as the two took out all the forces guarding the First Order camp flawlessly. Finally only one woman was left standing. She hid behind a couple of crates, no ammo left to fight back. Her vision returned to her and she pulled out her commlink. 

“Come in, we’ve been-” She was interrupted. 

“Are you sure you wanna do that?” Finn asked nonchalantly, walked up to her. 

The stormtrooper moved back into the corner. “Of course! It’s my duty to report my failure so my squad can be avenged!” 

Finn crouched down to her level. “And when they hear you’ve failed they’ll punish you worse than anything I’ll do.” 

The stormtrooper scoffed. “You’re going to kill me like you did everyone else. I have nothing to lose.” 

Finn shook his head. “I have no reason to kill you, you’re out of ammo and pose no threat. Taking you as a prisoner would be more trouble than it’d be worth. One stormtrooper escaping won't hurt anyone.” 

“I have nowhere to go, I can’t desert the First Order and then ask them to hitch me a ride.” 

“You can come with us.” Finn said. 

“Why would I come with the people who killed my comrades?” 

Finn looked back at the fallen soldiers. “They didn’t give me a choice, you did. You know that they didn’t care about you. They’re trained to, but I care about you.” Finn looked back at the woman. “Look, you can stay with the First Order and be another disposable tool, or you can come with us and actually do something with your life.” 

The female trooper slowly took off her helmet. Her look surprised Finn, she had white skin and cream colored hair that was cut short on the left side and flowed down to her chin on the other, a bang covering her bright blue eye. However the thing that stood out the most was that her mouth seemed permanently open. When she talked next Finn’s observation was proved right. 

“Surprised you.” She said, slightly playfully. “And no, I’m not an alien, common misconception. I know when to quit, the First Order has no use for me now, but I’m not going to join your Resistance. Just drop me off somewhere slightly civilized.” 

She got up and walked towards the Resistance camp. 

Rey came up next too Finn. “She’s clever, I think she was only staying with the First Order because they could kill her in a snap.” 

Finn was impressed. “You read minds like their picture holobooks.” 

Rey grinned. “I try to keep it to a minimum. Unfortunately for her we’re going to have to clear the entire base before we leave.” 

“Does she have the force? I still can’t sense that stuff.” 

Rey held Finn’s shoulder. “Still? Don’t compare yourself to others. You improve at your own pace, She has some connection to the force, but she’s not sensitive. She follows her gut instincts, the force guides her path though I doubt she’s consciously aware of it. She’s a little like Maz in that way.” 

Jannah’s gang ran up to them, Rey and Finn were overwhelmed by compliments and brushed them off. 

“Alright people! Let’s beat these First Order clods and get out before more of them come!” 

The new girl was trailing behind them. “Seriously?! Of kriffing course I’d get roped into this one way or another!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lore that I couldn’t put in the dialogue: the new ex-stormtrooper can talk without moving her mouth because of a small device in her mouth that’s linked with her brain. The device absorbs the sound when she speaks, reads what she’s meaning to say in her head, then plays out what she says with the same tone and infliction. I hope I didn’t break too many scientific laws with that explanation. ;) 
> 
> I am so happy that people are enjoying this fanfic! Knowing that readers have high expectations from this fanfiction drives me to write more often and add new things. I have plans for all the characters to go through interesting arcs and I’ll do my best to make this story worthy of the Star Wars name!


	5. OC time (this chapter’s short sorry)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ex-stormtrooper gets fleshed out and the raid on the First Order base is planned out!

Ex-stormtrooper A-113 felt a bad feeling rise in her gut, she told the others exactly that. Yet, here she was, following this group of rouge troopers like her that was led by a Jedi straight out of the myths and stories she’d heard as a kid. All the other ex-troopers treated her like she was one of them but she repeatedly told them she wasn’t joining them or they’re cause. They looked at A-113 not with the disgust and mockery of the First Order flunkies she grew up with but with curiosity and sympathy. She had learned that caring what people think of you just led to trying to appease others long ago, she felt like the only one who noticed how officers went out of their way to kiss up to their superiors despite absolutely loathing them in private. Though being around people who didn’t give a ugly sneer when she entered the room was significantly less annoying. However, they soon regained that annoyingness by thinking they could storm the First Order base by themselves. She just had to speak up when they were working through the plan. 

“You do realize if you had double the numbers you still wouldn’t have enough to raid that base? You’ll just kill yourselves.” 

They all looked at her. The dark skinned man who talked to her earlier spoke. “What’s your name?” 

“A-113, rolls off the tounge doesn’t it? Anyway, their base has a defense system and just as many troops as the ones outside. Except now you can’t blind them all so you’re gonna end up in a stalemate again. Also reinforcements are coming here soon. You’d be better off leaving.” The ex-stormtrooper said. 

The man looked at her with a face that let her know he knew all too well what life as a stormtrooper is like. “You need a real name. If you had to pick a name, what would it be?” 

She was taken aback. To be honest, she never thought of having a real name. More importantly, this was the first time anyone asked her what she thought. She might have even been blushing, though she wasn’t shy about it. She mused, my jaw would have dropped if it wasn’t dropped already. 

“I… don’t know. What about Ryndy? I like that name.” 

Everyone nodded, Finn smiled at her brightly. 

“Hello Ryndy, I’m Finn. The Jedi over there is Rey, Jannah’s the one with the bow. Oh, and there’s Forten and Jayelle. Nice to meet you.” 

Jannah stepped over to her. “I know you must be tired of fighting, but we could really use your help with this. We will compensate you for your cooperation and I promise after this we won’t ask anything more of you.” 

Ryndy shrugged and sighed but resigned to the fact that she might as well make sure her ride out of here didn’t die. “Alright, I’m in. Let’s get this over with, tell me what to shoot.” 

Jannah grinned. “Here’s the plan, the base is basically a series of hallways connected to each other, if we are slow then troopers could attack our position from multiple sides. We need to move fast and not allow them to converge on us at one place. Rey will lead the charge and block oncoming fire while we take out anyone that gets in our way.” 

Finn turned. “That wasn’t the plan! That’s… actually way better.” 

Ryndy crossed her arms and the look of her eyes conveyed amusement where her face could not. “I actually might live to get off this planet!” 

“That’s the spirit! Well, might as well get it started now!” Finn said. 

The Resistance cheered and went off towards the First Order Base. 

… 

A black and red First Order shuttle landed on a small clearing behind the base. The ramp lowered and out came the red head in black followed by four Sith troopers then ten stormtroopers. A officer came up shakily to greet them. 

“Welcome to this our humble camp here, m’am. I’m Pik Flockco-“ 

The girl raised her hand to stop him. “Do you feel that?” 

The man looked at her questioningly. 

The girl had a toothy grin under her brown hood. “That power. It’s the Jedi who killed my master.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter was short but I promise the next one will be big both in action and length!


	6. The Raid of The Bigiin Base

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The small Resistance band raids the First Order base on Bigiin!

The sun was beginning to set as the Resistance took out the guards outside the entrance and force pushed the door down, not even trying to act like they weren’t attacking. Sirens blared loud in the cold metal hallways bathed in red light. Rey’s yellow blade lit the way like a torch for the rest of the team. They had savagenged everything they could from the stormtroopers Finn and Rey had taken out and were fully armed to fight their way through the base. Ryndy had gotten a blaster off of one of the troopers and had enough ammo to spare. Though the shots at her questionable aim due to being a stormtrooper were getting old, she trusted these people to lead this mission well. No, she thought, no more mission, no more following someone else’s lead. You’re leading yourself now, Right now your best interest happens to be with these people. Soon enough this programming will go away. 

As they rushed through the base they passed several closed doors, no time to check what was inside. If they captured the control room they captured the base. Besides, with the small personal on the planet everything had to go into stopping the intruders. Rey ran ahead with grace as she swung her blade to deflect crimson fire. She and Finn had a small competition going on where Rey tried to take out more stormtroopers by deflecting fire back at them than Finn could take out by blasting them. 

“Thirteen, sixteen, And that’s- hey! You stole my shot!” Finn said over the sounds of everyone’s running and blasting. 

Rey smiled and deflected a shot going near to a Resistance soldier back at the trooper who fired it. “Sorry, you need every point you can get! I’ll focus on keeping my lead!” 

Jannah sighed. “Can you please not treat this like a game?” 

They all turned a corner. Waiting for them were five troopers. They all fired at the intruders. 

“I know, I know, but thinking too much about who we’re fighting won’t do any good. Might as well try to lighten the mood.” 

“I get you.” Ryndy said grimly. “It’s better to focus on the mission.” 

“Still… I wish we could talk them out of fighting.” Jannah said. 

… 

“They’re cutting through this base like butter! Aren’t you going to stop them?” 

“No,” The assassin said gleefully. “I want them to come to us. Most of them will be easy to dispatch, except for those two. The two Jedi.” 

The Junior Base Officer Pik Flockcor looked at the view screens like it was laggy. “I only see one Jedi.” 

The assassin laughed. “Finn’s yet to receive training but I can sense the force in him. Unlike all the other defects he is exceptionally strong, and he has something else. He’s oh so unsure of himself, nervous, and afraid.” She said that last word with emphasis. “Finn has a lot of fear in him, but at his core is a strength and drive to fight for what he wants. That makes him an ideal individual to become a Sith, or something like that.” 

Junior Base Officer Pik understood enough of what she was saying but still was dissatisfied. “I know the necessity of increasing the number of… special leaders like you, but my men are asking for new orders. If we tell higher ups all our forces were wiped out I”ll- this installation will be demoted to watch over some mundane farm!” 

The assassin sighed jokingly. 

“I guess I have to babysit this whole place. Order all the troops to fall back here, they’re doing no good trying to stop the rebels.” 

The officer nodded then turned to the lead stormtrooper. “Order the troops to fall back to this position at once!” 

“Yes sir!” She said. 

… 

“Is it just me or are there no bucketheads around?” Finn wondered out loud. 

The last few hallways they rush through where devoid of any opposition, it wasn’t until now that the potential meaning of that came to the group. 

“Yep, that’s definitely not a good sign.” Ryndy grumbled. 

Jannah gritted her teeth. “They probably fell back so they can attack us en mass! I don’t know why, but I have a really bad feeling about this.” 

Finn felt something similar, but much worse. It was like a cold prescience that pressed down on him. He’d once felt something similar, when he fought Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base, but that felt more like aimless anger and self-hatred. This had the feeling of sadistic pleasure and anxiousness, like a addict waiting for a new high. 

Finn looked at Rey. 

“I feel it too.” She said. 

Jayelle gave a quick laugh. “Yes, yes, we all got a bad feeling in our guts. It’s called cautiousness. 

Rey shook her head. “No, there’s definitely something with the dark side at the center of this base. Though I can’t think of anything that’d make sense…” 

Rey went deep into her thoughts as she ran, no one wanted to interrupt her thinking. Even if they all had questions to ask her. 

Ryndy half-scoffed, half-laughed. “I can’t believe I got roped into dealing with mystic Jedi garbage. I remember the Resistance making a big fuss about how the dark side was defeated and now it’s right in front of us! Seeing the way things are going I wouldn’t be surprised if we found out Kylo Ren did get knocked off!” 

Rey abruptly stopped running and snapped out of her brainstorm. Her mouth agape, the death of Ben Solo replayed in her mind over and over. She dropped her lightsaber, it turned off as it hit the floor. Finn rushed to her side followed by Jannah. 

Ryndy was surprised at Rey’s reaction and looked at the others with confusion. “Umm… was it something I said?” 

Finn was helping comfort Rey by holding her shoulders, he told her to take deep breaths, which she did, and focus on the present. Repeating the advice Finn had heard from her. Jannah helped her stand up and told her that they needed to hurry to the base center. Finn went over to Ryndy. 

“It wasn’t your fault but please make sure not to say the K and R words near Rey” Finn advised Ryndy, whispering into her ear. 

Ryndy nodded. “I get it. Must have had a bad experience with him that she hasn’t recovered from.” 

“Something like that.” Finn said. 

The party continued to run towards the control center of the base, unaware of the dark assassin waiting for them. 

… 

The Junior Base Officer looked away from the cams and looked at the assassin. “They’ll be here soon.” 

The assassin grinned wide and stretched her arms. “Good, everything will go according to the plan.” 

Junior Officer Pik widened his eyes in curiosity and scratched his hair. “If it’s not much trouble ma’m, I was just wondering… if it would be okay to know your name. Calling you ‘the assassin’ is quite unprofessional. I-In my opinion.” 

“You can call me Mara Jade, The Emperor’s Hand. I would have thought you knew the name.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> May the 4th be with you, always!


	7. The Apprentice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey Skywalker and Mara Jade finally meet!

Rey felt an ever growing dark presence as they approached the control center of the base. Though they ran into no trouble everyone still held their weapons at the ready. They suspected that all the stormtroopers had fallen back, but just in case some still guarded the halls they needed to be cautious. 

After a couple minutes they reached the door to the control center. The door was large, but unguarded. The group hid on either side of the door or behind cover waiting for Rey to open the door.   
Rey thought that it’d be locked but it wasn’t, with just a button press on the panel beside the door they’d be able to enter. She told the others and they agreed to open the door and face whatever was inside. It was definite now that it was a trap but if they wanted to leave this planet they needed to shut down the base. The small recon base would track their ship and the approximate coordinates it went to and report the data to the whole First Order. The First Order kept on finding new ways to impede the Resistance. 

Rey looked around at everyone, so far there had been no losses. Though now it’d be unlikely to keep that record in the next encounter. “Ready?” Rey said. 

Everyone nodded. 

“Weapons at the ready!” Jannah ordered, raising her bow and getting an arrow ready. 

The sounds of blasters reloading and cocking briefly echoed before every soldier and combatant had their weapons aimed and ready to let loose. 

Rey still sensed that dark presence. It was stronger than ever now that she was so close to it. It was a woman, about the same age as her, but Rey could feel her bloodlust and hate, and something else. This woman also conveyed off feelings of extreme pain, frustration, as well as some excitement. Suddenly her mind closed itself off from her, it was her way of telling Rey she knew she was reaching out to her.   
Rey shook away the feelings and counted down to three, then she slapped the panel and the door whizzed open. 

Right as the door opened everyone outside was struck by an intense wind of a force push that knocked them on their backs. Only Rey managed to stay standing, Finn had dropped to his knees.   
Blaster bolts raced out, about seven people were hit just by the first volley. Then, something impossible happened, Rey heard the sound of a lightsaber igniting and saw it’s purple blade wielded by a woman in black, with brown goggles and long red hair slowly walking out to meet the Resistance fighters. She walked unafraid of the blaster fire still launching out and striking down the fighters. Most of the soldiers that had come with Jannah, the majority of which had been taken out in their stalemate, were killed by the unpredictable attack. Now only about twenty combatants were left.   
Finn, Jannah, Ryndy, Jayelle, and Forten were suddenly pushed far away from the door by Rey, who leaped in the center of the action and gave her own mighty force push that flung the stormtroopers far back into the control room. Then with her mind she pressed the control switch to close the door and like lighting threw her yellow saber at the panel then back into her clutch.   
Rey held her lightsaber in a combat stance, staring at this new force user that had seemingly come out of nowhere. The woman grinned intensely and looked her over, assessing Rey while twirling her purple lightsaber. 

Rey decided to be the first to talk. “I thought that the Sith and the Jedi were all wiped out. Who are you?” 

The woman laughed. “I’m Mara Jade, you must be the much discussed Rey ‘Skywalker’.” Mara said the last word like it was a joke. 

“How did you become so strong in the force? There’s not many people who could train you, and they all have already trained someone other than you. Why haven’t I heard about you from anyone?” Rey questioned. 

“My master was the great Darth Sidious! Until you killed him when he wanted to give you everything! His legacy will be saved when I avenge his death!” Mara yelled. 

In one moment Mara went from sizing Rey up to attacking her with everything she had. Rey’s lightsaber moved twice as fast as normal to stop Mara’s purple blade from piercing her. Rey was being pushed back by Jade’s bullet fast but elegant dueling style. Though Rey wouldn’t recognize it, Mara’s lightsaber form strongly resembled Palpatine’s, it would’ve been closer to when he was a young man as Mara had the grace and agility of youth. Their blades crackled as they connected. It was like a light show as the two blades moved in a blur. 

Finn watched on as Rey fought against this new enemy. He couldn’t stand by and just watch while Rey was losing the battle, but what could he do? He thought he’d just get in the way if he tried to help, he was nothing like a Jedi. However, there was something else he could do while Rey fought this Mara Jade. He would just have to trust in her skill and leave her to the force wielder. Finn trusted Rey to survive. All this time Finn had tried to protect Rey but when it came down to it she was protecting him. Now Finn would prove he was the big deal everyone made him up to be. 

Finn motioned to Jannah and her soldiers with a wave. “Rey’s taking care of the Sith, we need to take care of this control center!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we're getting to the really good part of this story I've been wanting to tell! This is where the fun begins. Thanks for sticking with this story!


	8. Taking The Base

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey duels with Mara Jade while Finn attacks the control center of the base!

Rey fell back, edging ever backwards then followed it up by going on the offensive and reaching deep into the force to enhance her speed for quick bursts of attacks. She was intentional with her duel against Mara Jade in a way Rey never had been before. Rey picked up on Finn’s desire to do more than he already was. It was just like Finn to not be satisfied with accomplishing things most people would balk at and instead base his worth on the people he looked up to, Rey thought. Finn had come so far from the uncertain defect stormtrooper who couldn’t care less about taking up a cause. Now he was sure of his place in the world and lived not only to protect what he cared about but also the entire galaxy. Where once Finn hadn’t felt he’d belonged even when he was in the First Order now he confidently knew the Resistance was where he was meant to be. Though he still thought he was less than other people, Finn now had only become more determined to push himself harder and change who he was. Somehow Rey would have to find a way to teach him that he didn’t need to try so hard to change himself.   
Whatever his motivations were for taking the control center it was certainly going to be helpful. Now Rey was focusing on getting Mara out of Finn’s way while making sure she didn’t have enough time to turn her focus away from Rey. This fight was testing everything she’d learned since leaving Jakku and starting down her path of becoming a Jedi, and while the stakes involved for her prevailing weren’t as high as facing the Emperor the risks involved now felt just as important to Rey. Finn’s trust in her strengthened her resolve, she didn’t have time to think if that was because Finn was her best friend or if she had a crush on him. 

Rey led Mara down the nearby hallway, now was their chance to take out the control center. Finn and his motley team of rebels snuck over and they all started to blast a hole in the durasteel door. They all had to coordinate and slowly fire at the door in a circle if they wanted their shots to break through. It took a while but finally the door was melted enough that they could push out the circle they made and enter through the door. Thanks to the large chunk of metal they punched out the opposing stormtroopers and officers couldn’t stand close to the door and wait for the attack, they all stood at a distance behind cover. This time at least they were able to enter the room.   
Finn ordered everyone to pick their targets and make sure they couldn’t shoot back. As soon as they stepped through the door they laid down heavy fire so that the First Order would think twice about leaving their cover to fire back. 

Above the noise Finn decided to give their foes a chance to surrender. “It’s over! Be smart and quit while you still can! We don’t want to kill you, but we will if you don’t lay down your weapons! Oh, and by the way, don’t try to bluff us into thinking you have a grenade. If you did you would’ve already used it by now.” 

Finn thought he heard a faint ‘damn it’ from ahead of him. It seemed as though finally they realized they had lost, as one by one stormtroopers set down their blasters and slowly stood up, hands in the air. Eventually the Officers surrendered too and lastly the Junior Base Officer realized his subordinates had chosen for him. He stood up slowly glaring at the Resistance soldiers with hatred but content to live to fight another day. 

“Don’t even think about asking us to join you. Just do what you want here and leave us to be picked up by the First Order later. Even defeat as humiliating as this doesn’t justify treason.” The Junior Officer sneered. 

Finn shrugged. “Suit yourselves.” 

… 

Mara Jade seemed to have no concept of stamina. Rey decided that they were far enough away that she could stop trying to match her power and focus on falling back until she found her opportunity. She rolled away from her thrust and force pushed her from the side into the wall. Her colliosin made a large dent in the wall but Mara got back up again, not tiring in the least. Rey made quick jabs and slashes during the rare times Mara left herself open but the few times the blows landed they did mimal damage. The scrapes and bruises Rey received trying to dodge her assault were beginning to slow her down. This fight couldn’t go on for much longer. Rey finally decided her best course of action would be to try to talk to Mara Jade. At the very least Rey could learn more of her motives and how she came to be so powerful. Most of all Rey wanted to know why Jade hadn’t been heard of before now. Surely she would be part of the Knights of Ren or have been present on Exegol?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter, this has been a project I’ve really loved working on! The first “arc” of this story is almost done and then after that more of the main cast will come into the picture. Also, if you have any criticisms I’d like to hear them so I can improve my writing! If you can please share this fanfic with other people though you don’t have too. ;)


	9. Duel Of The Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Mara Jade fight as Finn leads his group forward!

Rey and Mara Jade’s duel continued. Rey was tiring, she breathed harder and harder as Mara pushed her backwards. Their blades constantly in motion, the two dancing around the many hallways of the base and destroying their surroundings as they threw objects and crashed into walls. Mara Jade was happier than she had been for a while, only when challenging Master Sidious or the Knights of Ren in sparring had she gotten such a thrill from fighting. She’d wished that idiot Kylo Ren had spared some of Luke’s students, only force users could match her in combat, and there were so very few of them these days. 

Rey struggled to speak over the sounds of their blades colliding. “How can you be so strong in the force without anyone knowing you existed? Who are you and how do you know Palpatine?” 

Mara chuckled. “There are many things you do not know about, one of them being me. You haven’t heard of me because I’m good at my job. Even the Knights of Ren were the stuff of rumors and myths, I was designed to not exist. You’ll be surprised how many people are touched by the force if you’d look.” 

Rey took what she could from what Mara Jade told her. She was trained by Palpatine to be a secret from everyone outside the Sith Eternal. There were small hints that she wasn’t the only force wielding individual who had great power, though she wondered exactly what she meant. She knew there were small cults and religions centered on the force that were different from the Jedi and the Sith. That must have been part of her purpose, but most important was her connection to Palpatine. How could a Sith have survived, and why hadn’t Palpatine used her as a vessel instead of trying to inhabit her or Ben?  
Nevertheless Rey needed a way to escape this duel, she had accepted she had no chance of winning. She decided to make her way outside and try to lose her. Hopefully Finn and the others had shut down the base and were making their way back outside as well. Ret could really use their help right about now. 

… 

Finn led the way to the front exit, they all were dashing towards their goal, hopeful that Rey would be okay. Finn decided to himself that if Rey was in trouble fighting that woman then he’d find a way to protect her. Finn had failed so many times at being there for Rey when she needed someone, but now he would never leave her again. Rey was not only the future of the Jedi Order but also the person he loved the most, and contrary to herself she can’t do everything by herself.  
That’s why she went to Ben, Finn thought before shaking the thought from his mind. Whether or not Ben intended to make choices that would be the best for Rey or whether he acted out of his own personal desires, Ben helped Rey become a better person. It wasn’t like Finn and Ben were in some competition for who could help Rey more than the other, Finn knew he shouldn’t be jealous of Rey getting so close to Ben but he couldn’t help it.  
It was a shame, Finn would have liked to meet Ben Solo as Ben and not Kylo, get to know Han and Leia’s son who meant so much to Rey. Hopefully there still might be a change Ben might not be gone entirely, if only they could figure out why Ben had appeared to Rey on Tatooine, and why he hadn’t shown himself since. 

“Finn-” Ryndy said, being cut off by Finn. 

“That’s General Finn to you.” Finn said, a hint of a smile on his face. 

Ryndy shook her head. “Ugh, General Finn, we’re nearing the front entrance.” 

Finn sped up his run a bit. 

“Let’s hope Rey’s there when we arrive.” Jannah said. “And that the girl with the red lightsaber isn’t with her.” 

… 

“I should’ve expected a Jedi to run from a fight. You’re all cowardly pacifists, making sure you have as little power as possible and yet trying to protect the galaxy from itself.” Mara mocked, playing along her master’s granddaughter's game and holding back her skill enough so Rey could flee to the entrance. 

She’d taken some time occasionally to sense what the Jedi’s friends were up to,she knew brave little Finn had taken over the base and was making his way to the front door. She suspected Rey also had sensed it.  
Mara had thought of a way to crack Finn’s shell of bravado and reveal his inner fear, when they met up near the entrance then was when she’d get serious and kill Rey. Finn would be broken by Rey’s death and the fact that he didn’t have enough power to save the people he loves. After that Finn would eventually realize that only she had the knowledge he needed to unlock his true potential. 

Rey rolled under her blade and spun up to slash at her, Mara did her own spin to use the motion of her missed attack and met Rey’s lightsaber with enough force that blocking the attack caused Rey’s hand to be hurt by the recoil. Rey deftly switched her wielding hand and used her damaged hand to support the grip. From then on Rey focused on the defensive, she agily dodged and rolled past Mara’s swings and only blocked Mara’s precise thrusts with both of her hands.  
The battle’s strain on Rey’s body seemed to be showing itself, she was now covered in sweat and taking large breaths from her mouth, her right hand was now a purple color at her wrist. When Rey meets up with Finn, killing her will be easy. 

Rey found the breath to ask Mara a question. “What’s your connection to Palpatine? You say he was your master, why weren’t you on Exegol when the Sith Eternal had it’s opening day?” 

Mara Jade laughed at Rey’s naivete. She had no chance of surviving here anyways so Mara felt she might as well let her master’s murderer know exactly who she was before she killed Rey. 

“When Palpatine and the First Order took control of the Unknown Regions he sent the Knights Of Ren out to find the most powerful force sensitives of a young age and gathered them all on Exegol. Now, at that time Ren was still their leader, and he greatly respected the Sith Lord. It is because of that respect that they served as a sort of mercenary group for Sidious from time to time. The Knights searched throughout unknown space taking the most adept force sensitives and bringing them to Darth Sidious. The children were trained as if they were his own apprentices. One among them exceed all the others and so Palpatine appointed her as his second in command, The Emperor’s Hand. That’s who I was, until…” Mara was overcome with rage and anguish, the dark side swelling from her and covering the area with an immense weight like gravity itself was pulling down harder. “YOU TOOK AWAY EVERYTHING I AM!! SIDIOUS OFFERED TO DO MORE FOR YOU THAN ANYONE ELSE!! HE TRAINS ME FROM AS LONG AS I REMEMBER, HE CALLED ME HIS MOST TRUSTED PROTEGE, HIS EQUAL, AND YET HE DIED PUTTING HIS FAITH IN YOU!! I WILL AVENGE MASTER’S DEATH AND CONTINUE WHAT HE STARTED!! THE SITH WILL NOT BE DESTROYED BY THEIR OWN CREATION!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I‘m sorry for the delay! As this arc comes to a close I plan to open up the galaxy and explore everything the other characters are doing and how they might all tie together! It’s an ambitious story to write, but I feel like I can make it work! BTW, I really implore you to comment on any story ideas and criticisms for the story, I want to make sure that I’m doing the best work I can!


	10. The End Of The Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Finn meet up and the plan to defeat Mara Jade is executed.

Rey finally understood the hate and anger that was contained in Mara Jade. Just like Ben, Jade had been used as a pawn by Palpatine, except that unlike Ben, Mara was still acting as a pawn even after Palpatine’s game was over. To imagine the harsh training she went through as Palpatine’s student thinking that you were his most prized ally only to be replaced by other people when you were no longer needed was a justifiable reason to be mad. But Rey had other things on her mind.   
Now Mara Jade had lost all control and was intent on killing Rey, Rey had finally stopped dueling and focused on running away. Her only hope was that Finn’s team could surprise her and blast her when she’s not paying attention. Luckily, being in the Resistance gave her experience in making hopes become reality.   
Mara chased after her and thrusted her blade towards her back, Rey managed to duck and roll out of the way of her blows and swings and continued her mad dash to the entrance. 

“Come here and face me, coward! You’re not even close to being a Jedi!” Mara snarled. 

Rey didn’t react to her words but inside it stung hearing that she wasn’t close to being a Jedi. Though she thought it herself hearing the first trained force user she’d met after being named a Jedi tell her she wasn’t close made her feel vulnerable.   
Rey focused herself, she had to become a better Jedi and restart the order, the galaxy needed the Jedi Knights back and she was the only one who could do that. For the galaxy’s sake she needed to survive this and make it off this planet. No matter how tired Rey was getting the force would give her the strength needed to carry on and persist.   
Rey only hoped that Finn would meet her in time. 

… 

Finn, Jannah, Jayelle, Forten, Ryndy, and the rest of the Resistance team ran as fast as they could to the entrance. Finn had expressed his odd feeling that they needed to hurry and Jannah trusted Finn’s intuition. So despite the bemoaning of the rest of the team they now rushed towards the entrance of the base. 

“Are we almost there yet?” Finn asked nervously. 

Ryndy sighed. “For the tenth time yes, we are, just one or two more minutes and we’ll be there.” 

Finn laughed. “Sorry, I’m just really worrying about Rey.” 

“Yeah, you seem to do that a lot.” Ryndy commented. 

The team laughed and Finn blushed. 

“I-I mean, I worry about her the same way I worry about all my friends.” Finn said shyly. 

Jannah laughed. “Don’t try and hide it, you and Rey have a special bond that goes beyond just being friends. There’s nothing to be shy about, you two are really cute together.” 

Finn looked downwards. “It’s not me she has a bond with…” 

Ryndy raised a quizzical look. “Huh? Who else does she like?” 

Finn shook his head solemnly. “You wouldn’t understand, it’s- it’s complicated.” 

Ryndy was dissatisfied with that vague answer but decided not to push it. Come to think of it, she was becoming a little too attached to this ragtag team. She needed to remember that this was only temporary, she would find a new place to belong. But where? The galaxy wasn’t kind of ex-stormtroopers, in free space they were treated as disgusting monsters and in First Order space they were treated as horrid traitors and backstabbers. She couldn’t think of anywhere she could live in peace, well whatever, eventually she’d think of someplace. 

… 

Finn finally recognized they were near the entrance door, just turned the corner and- wait. Finn could hear the sounds of lightsabers clashing together faster than he thought was normal. They were almost right after the other, meaning that not only had Rey not yet defeated the evil lightsaber woman but the woman was giving Rey a very hard time. Finn rushed ahead despite Jannah’s suggestions to stay out of it. Jannah quick but reluctantly followed him, worried about his well being. 

… 

This was it. Rey had managed to survive going back to dueling with Mara when they’d gotten close to the entrance but she couldn’t keep up with Mara Jade much longer.   
Then she sensed it. Finn was running to help her, and maybe he could get off a shot that would hit its mark. Rey focused on Finn’s mind and subtly suggested the idea to his thoughts, it was in the same vein as a mind trick however instead of controlling them you insert an idea that the person would have their own violation. Since she’d mastered the Jedi mind trick doing this was a simple task.   
Mara came at me, I only barely blocked the assault, she started with a downwards cut then spun the lightsaber in her hand, thrusted, swung from the left then the right, then threw up her saber, dropped to the floor and spun into an upper kick. I went into a backflip using the recoil as Mara grabbed her blade, got up, and blocked her vertical swing from the bottom right, our blades clashing together in a standstill. 

“This is the end, Rey Palpatine.” Mara said the last word sarcastically, as if it was sacrilege to even suggest that I was his heir. “Now the Jedi Knights will finally die and my master will have his justice!” 

Around the corner came Finn, blaster raised. Time seemed to move in slow motion as Finn’s blaster fired and flew towards Mara. I prayed that Mara Jade would be too busy reveling in her hatred that she wouldn’t notice the blaster shot in time. As it came close it became clear that it would hit Mara, Finn was one of the best shots in the Resistance, I was so glad I had someone as reliable as Finn in my life now.   
Interrupting the thought, Mara raised one hand off her saber and used the force to abruptly move my body to block the shot headed for her. It was just so fast I barely knew what happened, I just knew that the blaster collided with my shoulder partially, it was just enough to stop Mara taking the damage from the shot.   
Then I went down, clutching my shoulder, my lightsaber turned off and fell away from my hand. The shock of the pain had more of an effect than the pain itself as I couldn’t move at all. I only heard Finn calling out my name as Mara raised her purple lightsaber to kill me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this chapter! The next chapter will be the resolution of this story arc! #MakeSolo2Happen 
> 
> Yeah, I know it’s unrelated but I wanted to make sure it’s used to the fullest!


	11. End Of The Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission to Begiin concludes!

Finn had just shot Rey. Rey, despite being a Jedi, had still lost to this Woman. This woman hated Rey so much for someone she just met today. She was now about to finish Rey off with a plunge of her lightsaber. Finn couldn’t focus on blasting her again, he could only stand there and watch in horror. All of Finn’s figher instincts weren’t functioning.  
After everything that had happened he still couldn’t protect Rey when she needed it. Finn really was never the guy Rey deverved. However, in the back of his mind there was something telling him that he couldn’t give up, that he could save Rey. His subconscious seemed to know what he needed to do to save Rey, and now with his mind completely focused on the moment he was able to tap into a power he’d never used before.  
Finn called out Rey’s name as he held out his hands, but he wasn’t reaching for Rey, he was reaching out to Mara Jade. His fear and anger for the person who was about to kill Rey manifested itself and Mara was shoved backwards into the wall without anything touching her. Jannah’s team had come just in time to see the event, they witnessed as Finn used the force to shove Mara Jade into the wall just as she was about to impale Rey.  
This attack Mara was not expecting. She was caught completely off guard and her lightsaber fell and turned off as she was too stunned to get back up. She had made a large dent in the wall and slowly slid down onto the floor.  
Taking no chances Finn lifted Rey up and carried her in both arms as he ran back to the Millenium Falcon, the others following close behind.  
Finn didn’t care if the Sith had survived or not, he just wanted to get to somewhere safe where Rey could teach him how to use the force powers like he’d just done. If there was one good thing to take from this it was that Finn was capable of protecting Rey, he even figured out how to use the force a little bit! Though Finn wasn’t sure of how he did it or what he had to do to do the same thing again. That would come in time though, now he had to get everyone off this planet. 

“The ship’s close! Once we get out of here we’re home free!” Finn shouted. 

The Millennium Falcon was just ahead of the group. Finn realized that this was going to be the most people the Falcon had carried since The Battle of Crait a year ago. To think that a lot of those people were able to use the force, Rey’s New Jedi Order is getting off to a good start.  
Rey seemed to snap out of her silence and managed to figure out what was going on. 

“Wait. We can’t leave yet, Mara Jade needs to be stopped.” She croaked. 

Finn looked down at her. “We will stop her, after we’ve had enough training to stand a chance against her. Right now we’ll just get ourselves killed.” 

Rey nodded her understanding. “Finn… You used the force on her.” 

Finn gave a prideful smirk. “Impressive for a beginner, huh?” 

Rey looked at Finn with worry. “I-It’s certainly great that you saved me, you have so much mental fortitude that I’m not surprised you delved into the force when pushed into a corner, but, Finn…” 

Finn frowned. “What’s wrong? Just tell me, Rey.” 

“I felt your emotions while you used the force to slam her into the wall. You were drawing on your hatred of her and fear of me dying. You didn’t just want to protect me, you had the intent to kill her. Finn… I’m not saying you did something bad but, the dark side is a path that is so easy to get lost in.” Her face softened. “I know you have a good heart deep down, but the dark side takes good hearts and corrupts them. Good intentions slowly become worse and worse until you become exactly the thing you were trying not to be. I need you to promise me that you’ll only use the force while I’m there to guide you until you’ve become well versed in the force. If you fell to the dark side like Ben did… it would be the worst thing that could possibly happen.” 

Finn looked Rey in the eyes. “I promise you, Rey, I’ll always follow you, as long as you teach me I’ll grow into the Jedi this galaxy needs. I will never fall to the dark side, I learned the mistakes Ben made and I won't repeat them.” 

However, Rey seemed to not be listening. She was staring off at something behind her. They were right outside the Falcon, the ramp was lowered and Chewie came out to greet them. Finn gave a brief hello then started to go up the ramp. 

“Wait!” Rey exclaims. Stand back in front of the ship for a moment.” 

“Why? What is it?” Finn asks, but moves back to stand in the grass anyways. 

The rest of the Resistance boarded the ship, Ryndy giving a confused look to Finn. Chewie stayed out with Finn, worried for Rey’s health. 

… 

I looked at the thick forest trees with an unwavering focus. There he was. Ben. So he wasn’t a mirage.  
He stands right in front of the trees and is looking right at me. He’s wearing the same clothes he wore on Exegol, though he had grown some stubble, indicating the passage of time. He didn’t look like a force ghost, he looked alive. Though he had a look of lostness and longing that he never had before. Ben Solo was somehow still alive, though why was he being so elusive? Maybe if I called out to him he’d respond to me? 

“Ben!” Rey yelled, surprising Finn and Chewie. 

Just like that Ben disappeared. It was as if it was a dream, though it couldn’t have been. Ben was alive somewhere, and there was a reason I was seeing these visions of him. One day I would know the truth and find him. 

… 

Rey seemed to have come back out of her trance, she seemed to have regained some of her vigor and life.  
Chewie howled something that sounded like a question. 

Rey turned to look at Chewbacca. “Yeah… I saw Ben in front of me. He looked alive. I’ve seen him once before, on Tatooine. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to remind you of him. I’m sorry.” 

Chewbacca nodded his head sadly then gave a short roar. Finn had learned more of the Wookie’s language and had understood what Chewie said. 

“Yeah, we’d better leave before something else comes up.”’ Finn said. 

They walked up the ramp and Chewbacca piloted the Falcon. Finn was treating Rey’s blaster wound in the small medical bed the Falcon had. Everyone had found somewhere to sit, either in a seat or on the floor. The porgs were intrigued by the new guests and surrounded the ex-stormtroopers and rebels. Soon they went into hyperspace.  
Ryndy was standing alone when Jannah walked up to her. 

“So, where do you want us to drop you off?” Jannah asked. 

Ryndy wasn’t expecting to answer that yet. “Oh, um… Now that I think about it there aren’t that many planets that are kind to stormtroopers. I haven’t figured out where I’m going to live yet. Nowhere seems really great to me.” 

Jannah sighed. :Just admit it, you’re thinking of joining the Resistance.” 

“Fine. I’ve thought about it, but I’m done with following anyone’s orders.” Ryndy responded. 

Jannah put her hand on Ryndy’s shoulder. “That’s the amazing thing about the Resistance, we don’t force anyone to do stuff they don’t choose to. Recently we’ve set up some shelters where you can live, get a job. You don’t need to fight to help our cause.” 

Ryndy’s eyes widened. “I’m surprised a military group would waste resources on that.” 

“When this is over we’re going to have a government to run, now we’re getting started with returning the galaxy to a normal life.” Jannah explained. 

Ryndy thought for a moment before agreeing to live on Ajan Kloss. Jannah even offered her a position in the Resistance as a strategist. Ryndy finally accepted after a large amount of convincing. 

… 

The Falcon landed on Ajan Kloss, everyone came to greet the ex stormtroopers and Jannah gave Ryndy a tour of the base. Chewie went off to talk with Lando and Poe and Finn needed to discuss the recent happenings of the war. Rose was off on a mission that involved hijacking a cargo ship from weapons manufacturers supplying the First Order. Rey had gone to her quarters to take another look at the sacred jedi texts.  
She sat down and took the books out of the protective case they were in and opened one of the books carefully.  
Rey had read all of the books over the years since she’d got them, she still was trying to decipher them. Luke had written his own notes and comments on every page in the book, adding to the many Jedi who’ve written in the tomes. Reading Luke’s thoughts and theories made Rey feel more connected to him. He had a sense of humor that was still boyish even when she’d first met him, but he also had knowledge that helped her understand the teachings of the book more. From these texts Rey realized why Luke had thought the Jedi had lost their way and understood the mistakes the order made.  
However, Rey was looking for something in particular. The answer for why Ben kept appearing to her in the flesh. Rey knew there must be a reason for his disappearance and reappearance, and if the knowledge was anywhere it was in these texts. 

“Mistress Rey, is there something that you’d like me to help you with?” C-3PO approached Rey, R2-D2 was beside him. 

Artoo beeped a question to Rey. 

“No, thank you. I don’t want to search for anything specific, I’m looking for the things that I missed.” Rey answered. 

“If I may ask, what are you looking for? Your body language suggests that you are deep in thought about something that’s personal to you. Is there anything you need us to explain to you?” C3-PO said calmly. 

Rey looked up from her books at Threepio. “It’s nothing important, just a whim I’m following. I’d like to spend some time alone for a bit.” 

“Okay, let me know if you need anything.” C3-PO said, R2-D2 repeated the sentiment. 

Rey finally found something interesting, something the book described as Vergence Scatter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me through this first arc! This isn't the end of the story, the next chapter will be quite different and unqiue! I have so many ideas for this story and I really hope that I can pull off something this ambitious. The next few chapters will focus on the other character that weren't in this arc then if I'm still writing this thing I'll have Rey start a New Jedi Order. I first started this because I really wanted a novel that was about what happened after tros, now I feel this is starting to become that! 
> 
> Thank you Pan_2000 for being with me from the start and for writing a surpisingly kickass crossover story! JTSkywalker also was one of the few people who followed this story so thank you too! It's been a great few months since I started this and I hope it goes on to great places!


	12. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben is... somewhere else. In this place Ben Solo contemplates his life up to this point.

Ben’s eyes opened to a black void. There was nothing around him except for stars and white lines on either side of him like a road. He could hear distant echoes but nothing else. Slowly, Ben sat up and tried to remember what happened.   
He was flung down a pit, he felt his spirit leave his body, like he was being sucked into another world. He resisted. Ben climbed back up and saw Rey lying dead on the ground. Ben gave everything he had to bring her back to life, but then he realized that pull to the other place was still affecting him, and now he didn’t have the strength to resist it. So he ended up here. 

“Huh…” Ben Solo muttered. “So this is hell. Thought it’d be hotter.” 

Ben Solo was wearing the same clothes he had on when he was on Exegol and felt weirdly… alive. Didn’t people become a part of the cosmic force when they died? Maybe hell was just where the bad guys went.   
Ben got up on his feet and looked around, nothing but stars. He noticed the small road of light that served as the ground, this place seemed very strange.   
Ben just stood in place, thinking over everything that had happened in his life.   
He came to the conclusion that he deserved to be here. What the hell was he thinking, parading around as Kylo Ren, serving a corrupt government that oppressed ordinary people trying to live decent lives? He’d considered himself a victim while he perpetrated the death and suffering of thousands. He’d not only betrayed his family, but himself.   
Ben Solo was done disregarding his responsibility, he would take accountability for what he’d done and make sure he never could do it again.   
His mind drifted back to Rey. Would she be okay with him being gone? Ben considered that. Rey needed someone to watch her back and make sure she’s never lonely. However, there was another man who loved Rey as much as he did. The young man who faced him on Starkiller despite knowing he stood no chance against him. FN-21- no, Finn was his name. Against all odds Finn, a lone stormtrooper, had the courage to face him in combat. He was fairly competent with a lightsaber too considering his lack of training. Ben always knew he was something unique, if a humdrum buckethead landed a hit on him in a duel he’d probably commit sekepu on the spot.   
Now Ben could see it was Finn who truly cared about Rey. He wasn’t possessive or controlling and he didn’t seduce her to the dark, he always wanted the best for Rey. Even if he expressed his concern for her in very… loud ways. Still, I can't say he wasn’t passionate about her.   
Rey and Finn got along as perfectly as two people could, Rey truly deserved Finn.   
Ben just hoped that the Resistance would bring back the New Republic and make the galaxy a better place. Ben knew the leaders of the Resistance were smart and clever people, Despite all the First Order’s power and everything they tried the Resistance still survived. Even in one of the most devastating battles, The Battle of Batuu, where the First Order did a surprise attack on the Resistance’s base, the Resistance still found some hope to hang on to. Though their Mon Cala fleet they worked so hard to get was destroyed in the attack they still managed to escape. Finn even snuck onto his personal Star Destroyer and rescued captured Resistance members. The Resistance managed to survive that attack and keep on fighting, The Resistance had capable leaders and Ben knew they’d defeat the rest of the First Order.   
In another world Ben would be there with his fellow Jedi Knights, Voe, Tai, and Hennix, fighting against the First Order. 

From seemingly everywhere Ben heard a strong but calm voice. “Are you just going to sit there and think of what you could’ve done?” 

Ben turned to look around him, there was no one here but himself. Was he really losing his sanity that quickly? 

“No, you’re not hearing things, I’m as real as you are. Come towards me, Ben. Heir of the Skywalkers.” The voice said. 

Ben chuckled a little at that. “Where am I supposed to come to?” 

“Where you move forward isn’t as important. Just pick a direction and go move forward, that’s what’s important for you now.” The voice answered. 

Ben rolled his eyes. This voice sounded like Luke when he’d recite some ancient Jedi wisdom to Ben while he was training. However, might as well do what this voice tells him, it’s not like he was busy here.   
Ben walked down the road of light, as he went on the echoes of voices became louder. He could make out individual voices speaking, there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason for the words they were saying. 

“Be mindful of the living force.” A calm fatherly voice said. 

“I am a great pilot!” Said someone who oddly reminded Ben of his dad if he was in his early 20’s. 

“May the force of others be with you…” Muttered a voice who sounded completely serene. 

“It is too late for me… my son” says the voice of his grandfather, Darth Vader. 

Hearing that voice stops Ben. He idolized Vader, aspired to be like him. He thought Vader was speaking to him as a child, but now he knew it was Palpatine manipulating him to the dark side. He just listened to everything Palpatine told him, never once questioning the lies being fed to him. Before he knew it he was following in Vader’s footsteps, trying to come closer to who Darth Vader was.   
But now that he heard the real Vader speak, he heard the sadness in his voice. The acceptance of his suffering and his longing to be Anakin again. Ben was so busy trying to become Vader that he didn’t realize Vader hated being himself with a passion. He ignored how Anakin’s turn to the dark side granted him nothing but suffering and thus brought the same suffering upon himself. Ben was a fool, it was ironic how it was only in death that Ben fully recognized his mistakes. He hated Palpatine for ordering the death of Rey’s parents, but if Palpatine did one good thing, it was removing him from the galaxy. 

“I see you’ve stopped moving and have gone back to brooding over the past. As if that would make things better.” The voice commented. 

Ben Solo looked towards the direction he was heading in. “My whole life I’ve been making mistake after mistake.” 

“And you think standing around will correct those errors?” The voice retorted, like he was teaching someone. 

“I think I’ve done enough already. The whole reason I’m here is because I wasn’t content with my current place in life.” Ben said. 

“No. The reason you’re here is because despite all the sin you’ve committed you still are capable of helping others, like Rey. Yes, for a long time you have been a cruel and merciless person. However, unlike many who are cruel you realized your mistakes and changed for the better.” The strange voice explained. 

Ben was getting tired of this voice. He knew he was irredeemable. Whoever this voice was didn’t understand him very well. 

With a curt tone Ben spoke. “Who even are you? I’ve never met you and yet you speak as if you know me. You don’t. The mistakes I’ve made are too terrible to be forgiven. I will never leave this place and put people at risk because of me.” 

“I am the Bendu. I see many things, including your entire life. I know everyone who you have wronged. Every mistake you have made I remember clearer than you do. Now… are you going to let the dilemmas you’ve caused be fixed by other people or are you going to go fix your mistakes? If you really do hate yourself for everything you’ve done, then you need to take action and rectify your sins.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t worry, I haven’t turned traitor! This story IS STILL FINNREY!! I want to make Ben have a slow and gradual redemption where he has to earn it. I’ve thought about the arc I want Ben to have and I thought of something much better than reylo. Hopefully you hate Ben a little less now, though I’d be surprised if you’re rooting for him after just one chapter. Ben Solo will slowly become a better person and earn his Skywalker title. Thanks for reading and HOLY SHIT thanks to the two people who gave kudos to this story! You’re all amazing! 
> 
> Also, I keep on missing Finnrey Friday. I’m just going to aim for Jedistorm Sunday from now! XD


	13. Poe’s Plight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe thinks about what he wants to do in the Resistance.

Poe and Finn were standing around the holo table in the Resistance war room. They were also accompanied by Admiral Ackbar’s Son, Lieutenant Connix, and C-3PO. They were in the middle of discussing the ongoings of the war and their chances of victory in various battles in the mid rim. 

“I don’t know… trying to take a planet from the First Order seems like too much of a gamble right now. We need to focus on getting a solid fleet first. We’re still in debt to various people thanks to the Battle of Exegol. We need a reliable influx of manpower and ships before we start attacking back.” Poe said. 

Finn sighed. “We have plenty of ships, yes, many of our forces request compensation for their help but surely we could convinve them to wait a while.” 

“Have you met some of our people? They’re definitly not doing this for the greater good. Most of our new recruits are just scum who happen to agree with us that the First Order is an inconviance. We’re just a means to get rid of their enemies.” 

“Sadly this is true, our loyal members who fight to restore the New Republic are having a hard time working alongside these new recruits. Sometimes the only thing keeping them from shooting each other is that the First Order would shoot them both first. It’s been very bad for our morale.” Aftab Ackbar spoke his mind on the matter, raising a good point. 

Connix stepped in then. “Generals, Rose has successfully obtained the supplies and is coming back with them now.” 

Poe smiled. “At least part of this rebellion is going well.” Poe turned to Finn. “Finn, I presume you’d be up to helping us plan out our next moves until Rose comes back here. I think you’d like to see her again before you leave your position for a while.” 

“What do you mean?” Finn asked. 

“Wasn’t Rey going to take you and go teach you how to be a Jedi? I feel that this is the right path for you buddy. Sure we need everyone we can get but Jedi Knights would be far more useful in the long term. I also heard Jannah talking about being trained, your definitely giving me a challenge by all upping and leaving like this. Thank the force I’m such a great leader.” Poe joked. 

Finn was surprised that Poe would let him leave. “I want Rose to take up my position as General when I resign.” 

Poe grinned. “Who said anything about resigning? You know, in the Clone Wars the Jedi were generals, I’d say that after you get trained as a Jedi Knight you’ll be even more worthy of the title.” 

Connix also smiled. “It would definitely be nice to have more Jedi on our side. Rey alone was a game changer, having even more Knights might be what wins us the war.” 

Finn blushed in embarrassment. You’re really putting a lot of stock in me being a Jedi Knight comparable to them during the Clone Wars, I hope I can be anything close to that.” 

Poe put his arm on Finn’s shoulder. “You can, buddy. I believe in you.” 

… 

Rey was still reading through the books when Finn, Jannah, Jayelle, and Forten walked in to her quarters. 

“So, are you packing up? Finn asked playfully. 

Rey snapped back to her surroundings. “Ah, no, I’ve lost track of time, sorry.” 

Finn laughed. “It’s fine. I wanted to wait until Rose comes back before I leave anyways. You have plenty of time.” 

Jannah looked at the Jedi texts. “It must be super cool reading these old things. They must have so many weird force powers to learn!” 

“Not really, they’re mostly just philosophy and history. Which to me is interesting but not to many other people.” Rey commented. 

Finn looked at Rey with a something that was more than admiration. Jannah and Jayelle whispered and giggled quietly to each other. That confused Forten and Finn, Rey was too busy thinking about what she read in the books to notice. 

… 

Connix found Poe working on his X-Wing. He and BB-8 were tinkering with the engines, trying to optimize it to it’s best. She greeted Poe and he turned around to say hi back. 

“Wedge has been wanting to talk to you for a while, I think you should take the time to speak with him, General.” Connix said. 

Poe looked downwards, unable to even meet Connix’s gaze. “You know why I can’t talk to him… What does he even want to talk about?” 

Connix’s face softened. “He’s curious as to why you’ve not been with Black Squadren ever since Exegol.” She said that word almost like a whisper. 

“He knows why. I have to right to act as the leader of Black Squadren after… he died. They’re better off without me.” Poe spoke shakily, trying to act in a way becoming of the Resistance’s top players. 

“Jessika and Kare say otherwise. They keep telling me that they have felt incomplete with you not leading them.” Connix countered. 

Poe thought for a moment. “I know how they feel, but how can I make them feel complete without Snap there two? How can I face them again after my premature attack on the Sith Eternal fleet cost so many lives? This wasn’t the first time I made a bad choice that got many of our people killed, the only reason I feel up to leading the Resistance is because I’m not under the stress of battle. I don’t feel up to being in charge of making split second combat decisions anymore.” 

Lieutenant Connix smiled. “You don’t have to be part of Black Squadron again, you just have to talk to them. You need to talk to Wedge too. You know they’d never blame you for what happened. Plus… you never know, maybe being right in the action again is just what you need.” 

Poe finally smiled too. “Thanks, Connix. I think I will go see them. If I do decide to lead Black Squadron again you’ll take care of the Resistance right?” 

“Of course, General!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I’m finally posting on Finnrey Friday! We’re getting close to Rey beginning her New Jedi Order which I can’t wait to write! Please tell me what you think of the story so far and what you want to see in the future!


	14. Before The New Arc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose meets up with Rey and Finn and they actually interact unlike TROS.

A blocky cargo ship landed in the Resistance base and Rose walked out, sporting a new look. She wore a gray jumpsuit, black shoes, and orange gloves. She also wore a black and orange helmet with an orange visor. She was glad to be back and her crew unloaded all the supplies they had gotten while she checked to make sure everything was there. It took awhile for Rose to make sure everything went where it needed to be but finally she had some time to see her friends.  
Rose looked around at the base, once it was a glorified forest campground, now it was a true base of operations and it had grown even from when she’d last seen it. If only Paige could be here to see how far they had gone.  
Rose went towards the command center, as that was where Finn usually was, but he wasn’t there. Rose asked Poe and he told her about everything.  
Finn could use the force.  
Finn was going to become a Jedi Knight.  
It had taken dozens of repeated explanations and C-3PO’s confirmation to be sure that Poe wasn’t pulling a prank on her. Rose was so excited for Finn, when she’d met him he was a coward only interested in him and those close to him. Now he finally was the “big deal in the Resistance” and he now realized he had the potential to be a Jedi!  
Poe told her that Finn and Rey wanted to leave as soon as they could so they could come back sooner with the experience in the force to help the Resistance even more. Rose went to meet the two at Rey’s new favorite spot for meditation, a spot near a lake a little ways out of the base. 

When Rose found the two they were sitting a little too close to each other and were talking excitedly about something. Rose cleared her throat and greeted the two. 

Finn smiled. “Rose!” 

“Hey, Rose!” Rey greeted. 

They both got up from their spot on a large grey rock near the lake and they all embraced in a short hug. 

“I haven’t seen you in a while!” Rey said, happy to finally see her again. 

Rose grinned. “Maybe if you worked on the Resistance as much as your training you’d notice I’ve been carrying the team.” 

“If you’ll remember it was my training, not your planning, that led to the emperor’s destruction.” Rey countered. 

Finn butted in between the two. “If the both of you were as competitive with the First Order as you are with each other then this war would be over by now!” He mocked playfully. 

For the last couple of months Rey and Rose have been playing this game of roasting each other and trying to make the most creative insults. It started with the Battle Of Batuu, where Rose had helped Finn infiltrate a Star Destroyer while Rey fought againstKylo Ren on the planet surface. Afterwards Rose had teased that Rey was more focused on Kylo than she was on Finn. With that small joke a running tradition was created of Rey and Rose making fun of each other.  
Of course their rivalry was purely ironic and they actually became closer friends because of it, but it was fun to mess around. 

“Looks like you beat us both! Anyways, I hear that you’re going to become a Jedi!” Rose beamed at Finn with joy. 

Finn grinned as well. “Yeah! It turns out I actually have the Force! In my last mission I was with Rey, and I was able to use it to push some Sith girl into a wall!” 

Rey was concerned about the way Finn so lightly brought that up. “Finn, that’s not exactly something you should be proud of considering, you know what.” Rey kept her tone not too sour and refrained from saying out loud that he’d used the dark side. 

Finn nodded, his expression turning more serious. “Sorry, I was just a little caught up in the excitement.” He looked back at Rose. “How did your mission go, Rose?” 

Rose sighed. “Same old, same old. We had to bend over backwards just to get the supplies the Resistance needs. Still, I wouldn't give it up for the universe.” 

“I know how you feel.” Finn replied. 

The three talked for a long while about things concerning the war, gossip about the members of the Resistance, news about the underworld of the galaxy, and other things. Eventually the conversation led to talking about Kylo Ren. 

“Is it true that Kylo sacrificed himself for you? It just doesn’t seem like something he’d do.” Rose asked Rey. 

Rey was a little annoyed with the question. “Yes, I died after killing Palpatine but Ben gave me all of his life energy to me. I know Ben has done horrible things but he was manipulated by the dark side his whole life. He has- had a good heart deep down, he just was led astray. If the Emperor had died on Endor he would have become a great Jedi Knight.” 

Rose found all this hard to believe, but she trusted Rey and since she had never met Kylo Ren she didn’t know for sure what he was like. What she had heard however was that he was a ruthless killer. “Well, I’m glad that in the end he got to do one good thing.” 

Rey considered if she should tell Rose and the rest of her friends about how she had seen Ben twice since he’d died but she didn’t want to freak them out. Better to tell them when she had solid proof that Ben was still alive, wherever he was.  
Rey realized how long they had been talking and wanted to get going so they could get started sooner. She was excited to train Finn, and she also knew that Finn needed to learn about the Force so he didn’t fall to the dark side. 

“It was fun talking with you but we should really get going, there’s a lot of stuff we need to do.” Rey said eventually. 

Rose nodded and agreed. “I’m glad we got to see each other! Good luck restarting the Jedi Order! Finn, try not to be too dense learning things, and when you get back I want you to show me how many rocks you can lift!” 

Finn fist bumped with Rose. “It’s a deal! See you soon! Make sure Poe doesn’t have the Resistance go up in flames while I’m gone!” 

Rey waved goodbye. “Good luck with the Resistance! May the Force be with you!” 

The two ran off, happy to go on this special journey together.  
Rose sighed and looked at Finn as he went away. 

“He’s definitely a special kind of guy.” She said to herself. 

Rose had seen Finn go from a coward only interested in the ones he cared about to a hero who helped anyone and everyone, and it seemed he would become even more extraordinary as time went on. At one point she had thought that she could be in a relationship with him, but she realized that he and Rey had a special bond that Finn didn’t have with anyone else. Rose was glad that he found someone that could make him happy. Though she wondered if there was anyone out there for her? It seems that, like Kylo Ren, she had been friendzoned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't posted anything for so long, I've been writing a RWBY fanfic while working on my own original book. I'm going to try to get back in the groove of writing more chapters! There's not enough Finnrey fanfiction out there!


	15. The Start Of The New Jedi Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey finally starts training a new generation of Jedi on Ach-To.

Rey, Finn, Chewie, R2-D2, and C3-PO were all in the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon. They had just gone into hyperspace and were going to Ach-To to train. In the living area of the ship was Jannah, Jayelle, and Forten.  
The rest of Company 77 decided that they wanted to stay and help the Resistance fight the First Order. 

Rey unfastened herself and looked back at Finn. “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this!” 

“Me neither. All my life I thought I was just another stormtrooper but now, I’ll be able to lift rocks and swing a lightsaber!” Finn replied. 

They went back to the living area and to pass the time they held a holochess tournament. Everyone would play each other and the person who won the most would win. Chewie won the tournament to everyone’s annoyance, but R2 and Jayelle got second and third place. 

Finally after several hours they made it to Ach-To. Rey landed in the same spot she did more than a year ago when she first came to meet Luke.  
The porgs were so happy to be home that they were the first ones to leave the ship. Rey even had to open the ramp right away as they couldn’t wait to return to their home planet. When the ramp was down the porgs all flew off into the damp environment, giving loud cries as they left.  
Finn was next to leave the ship, followed by Rey. Finn gazed out at the island and looked at the ruins of the steps leading to the temple. 

“So this is where the Jedi started? Pretty humble beginnings.” 

Rey smiled. “Wait until you see the buildings. First thing we’re going to do is install some necessities like electricity and comm systems!” 

Jannah walked outside next and looked around. “I like this place, it reminds me of Kef Bir where we first met.” 

“It just reminds me of another uncivilized planet.” Finn said. 

“You get used to living in nature eventually.” Jannah replied with a grin. 

Jayelle walked down the ramp carrying a datapad. “Well if it’s any consolation we just need to get the energy generator out of the cargo hold and we’ll have at least some modern commodities. Chewie and I will get to work setting everything up, just show us where you want to stay.” 

C3-PO and eventually R2 elected to stay aboard the ship where they wouldn’t risk getting wet and Rey ageed.  
Rey thanked Jayelle and led them all to the stone crafted village that had been long abandoned. After a couple of hours they had a solar powered generator and the whole village had lights, computers, and appliances to cook food. The caretakers were pissed but sensed the Force in each of them and were glad that at last Ach-To would be the home of the Jedi again.  
Now it was almost dinnertime and as Chewie was cooking up some of the canned food they brought with them Rey took them all to the temple at the top of the mountain.  
They stopped in front of the mural on the floor depicting the Prime Jedi, half light, half dark. Finn, Jannah, Jayelle, and Forten looked at the painting in awe. 

“This has to be at least more than a hundred thousand years old!” Jayelle said as she examined the mural closely. 

Forten gazed around at the carved out temple, light shining in from a sentence to a small outlooking rock ledge.  
Rey walked towards the mural and sat down beside it, signaling the others to get their attention. 

“This mural depicts a being called the Prime Jedi.” Rey explained. “As you can see, he achieved a perfect balance between the light side of the Force and the dark side of the Force.” 

Everyone felt giddy inside, finally, they were being taught something about the Jedi! Finn and Forten were literally quivering with excitement. 

Finn sat down next to Rey by the mural. “So who was the Prime Jedi? Do you know?” 

“The Prime Jedi is more of a prophecy and legend than an actual person.” Rey replied, trying not to focus on just Finn. “The Prime Jedi may have been a real person in the past or will become a reality in the future. Though the most likely explanation is that the Prime Jedi is just an example for what Jedi should aspire to be, not a depiction of anyone particular person.” 

Forten nodded, confirming to Rey that he had listened to and understood everything she said while he observed the many porgs glide about the island as he looked from the opening in the cave. 

Jannah went to stand near Rey and Finn, looking down on the two admiring the mural. “So what exactly is the Force, how can it do such amazing things? How do you even use it, anyways?” 

Rey stood up, sensing that Chewie and Forten were finished setting up the village. “That is a question for tomorrow. Tonight let’s head back to the village we’re staying in and decided who will be sleeping where!” She said with a sly grin. 

... 

The stone village now had lights both in each hut and outdoors, and there were heaters, computers, and other necessary appliances in most of the huts. It resembled Ajon Kloss back when it was still hodgepodge and quickly put together. Each hut had a cable trailing back to the solar power generator that powered everything.  
All in all, it looked the best it had in quite some time. Even the Caretakers had to admit that Chewbacca and Jayelle had done a good job revamping the place. 

The whole group ate some of the food they brought along and together they had a good time with each other. The newly discovered threat of Palpatine’s secret assassin seemed far away and manageable, now they were all filled with hope that the New Jedi Order had taken it’s first steps into returning to their glory days. 

... 

The First Order Super Dreadnought Inevitability hung over the sky of the capital of Coruscant like a blanket, covering the planet and blocking out the sky. Though the First Order’s center for it;s government was in the building that once was the heart of the Old Republic, the center for the First Order’s military and navy was the massive battleship.  
It had just finished construction and was now fully operational. The Resistance had been too busy trying to etch out their small day to day existence to be able to react to it’s construction. Even if they did know about it there wasn’t anything they could do about it, the Inevitability was built far into First Order space. Any attack they might have made would have been pointless.  
Grand Admiral Jaccruss Sloane had replaced Hux as the tactical leader of the First Order. The son of Rae Sloane, one of the major leaders of the Empire after the Battle of Jakku and a founder of what would become the First Order. It was to no one’s surprise that as soon as Snoke and his protege died that Jaccross would lead the Order his mother had started.  
He stood on the wide and tall bridge of the ship, sitting on a throne purposely made to keep its occupant from getting comfortable and lazy. He had his back turned to the wide window showing the vast cityscape as he stared at Mara Jade and her new project she had been working on since before Palpatine’s death. 

“May I proudly introduce you to my new special dark side team, the Sith Ghouls.” Mara Jade said, kneeling down along with the darkly robed group. 

There were five dark figures kneeling. They all were cloaked so that they were indistinguishable, though underneath the robes each one had his or her own personal outfit. The only thing that was different and stood out was the lightsabers each one of them had. Some were larger or looked different but all of them showed everyone who saw them that they were not to be trifled with.  
Mara looked up and was pleased to see that Jaccruss was satisfied with her new band. 

“Excellent.” He said smoothly. “A group of beings who share your special abilities with the Force. And I presume these Ghouls are obedient to our command and ready to do their part?” 

“Yes, they will execute any order I or any other high ranking member gives them without question.” Mara affirmed. 

“Fantastic! The Knights of Ren lacked dedication to the First Order, but with you leading the Sith Ghouls the Resistance will be unable to last long.” 

... 

Just before Rey closed the door to her hut she caught a glimpse of Ben Solo. Right when she noticed Ben disappeared just like before.  
Rey went to bed wondering just what was happening with Ben, was he real or was she making herself think he was real?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright this was what I have been wanting to write ever since I started this story! Now that everything is set up I can start really getting into everything I wanted to see after TROS! I have so many ideas and I hope that I can deliver. Honestly I feel this is the most important thing I've done in my life so far, so many people have read this that I honestly can't be more grateful. If I was a shounen anime protagonist I'd have my goal be to make this the most popular Finnrey fanfiction ever, but honestly I'm fine with not getting anymore popular. I just want to make sure the fans of this story I have now are statisfied when the story concludes.  
> I know one thing;s for sure, Finnrey will be endgame! 
> 
> Thank you for reading this chapter!


	16. The Message

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose receives a unusual comm message.

A few weeks had passed since Rey had started training her new students. So far they had been making good progress, Finn was learning how to move small objects like rocks or utensils with precise control, Jannah was learning how to center herself in meditation and feel the Force around her, Forten had always been more attuned to nature and was now trying to use the Force to reach out and connect to the animals on the island, Jayelle was still having trouble reach out to the Force but she too had made progress.  
Rey was now going through basic saber forms with Finn on the ledge on the temple overlooking the island. Finn was using a stick Rey had found while she used her own lightsaber. The sun was shining and for once it was pretty nice outside.  
Finn tried to copy each of Rey’s motions, every other move Rey stopped him so she could change his posture or have him do a move again. 

“Focus on making deliberate sweeping motions.” Rey said, demonstrating Form I to Finn. 

Finn had gotten used to staying in the Jedi Ready stance, his dominant foot back and his stick held in his dominant hand upwards in a slightly vertical position. He was now balanced on his feet and focused on mastering Form I. 

Finn looked over at Rey. “When can I learn the cooler moves? Not to diminish the uh, importance of Form I but it’s kinda basic.” 

Rey smiled. “If you can’t master these simple moves then you definitely woln’t be able to pull off the more complicated stuff. It may seem boring but trust me, knowing the basics opens up everything else.” 

“Yes, Master Skywalker.” Finn said in a jokingly serious manner. 

Rey giggled, she had told Finn about how the Padawans of old had to treat their masters with respect, and now Finn acted all serious and called her by her ‘Master Skywalker’ like they hadn’t been friends for a year.  
Thinking about it, it was weird that they had only known each other for little more than a year. They had become so close it felt like Rey had known Finn for five years. Though Rey hadn’t had anyone who cared about her until she’d met Finn, perhaps because she never had any other family she remembered every second with Finn with clarity. 

They continued on with their practice and Finn eventually got used to the Form I moves. Finn was exhausted but he was happy that he had done well. 

Rey patted him on the back and they both sat down for a rest. 

“I think I’m finally getting the hang of this Jedi stuff!” Finn said through pants. 

“You certainly have had the most progress of all my students so for.” Rey responded. 

“Really?” Finn tilted his head. 

“Yeah! You’re a natural. For someone who doesn’t know much about Jedi stuff you seem to pick up things really quickly.” Rey mused. 

For any other of her students Rey wouldn’t praise them higher than anyone else, but with Finn she felt comfortable telling him how strong in the Force he was. He was so earnest and kind that it would never go to his head, and personally Rey thought of Finn as more than a friend.  
But then, was he the one she loved? What would Ben say if she had kissed him only to date someone else? Was it even logical to keep thinking about someone who for all she knew was dead when she had someone else?  
Rey shook herself out of that train of thought, soon she would track down where Ben was, but now she had to give her students at least a basic amount of knowledge and skill in the Jedi ways.  
The Jedi Order wouldn’t advance itself. 

...

Rose sat in the comm room of the Resistance base. Dencrpting First Order Messages, Decoding Resistance messages, picking out which communications were allies or enemies.  
It was then that a strange signal came through. It was being transmitted from a ship called the ship, and though it was coded, the code was ameutterish and easy for her to understand.  
The message however, was the truly odd part. 

“Resistance, do you read me? I wish to speak with the Jedi, I’m a friend.” The message was being repeated as Rose wondered what to do. 

The model was one of the First Order’s but it was over a year and a half old. It was also not sending the message on a First Order frequency, which meant either that it was someone using an old First Order ship, or it was a trap.  
Rose was curious as to why the messenger wanted to talk to Rey specifically, and why the message was so upfront. Usually when people tried to get in contact with the Resistance they kept their cards close and only alluded to their motives so any eavesdroppers would have a harder time knowing what was being planned.  
The simplicity and lack of discretion leant itself to the sender being someone with less knowledge of basic war time communications and a lack of subtlety.  
Rose decided to send a message back to them, risking making the code less elaborate so it could be understood. 

“What do you want from a meeting with the Jedi? Who are you?” She sent back, hoping no one intercepted the transmission. 

It didn’t take long for the msterious contact to respond, indicating urgency, or excitement. 

“I am very, very knowledgeable about the Jedi and their history and I am touched by it. I am very familiar with the Force. I think that the new Jedi will want to meet another one of her kind.” The message said. 

Rose almost gasped and went to show Poe their new contact. It seemed that there was a force sensitive already well versed about the Jedi Order, Rey definitely had to see this. 

… 

Rey and her students were eating lunch when a message came through to their comm. She went to check it out and see what it was. It was sent from the Resistance, ever since they came here the Resistance had mostly just left them alone. Whatever the message was it must be important.  
Rey pressed the button to play the message and a hologram of Rose came up, the others all left their food to see what the message was about. 

“Just earlier, an unknown person contacted us, the signal was coming from an old ship commonly used by citizens in the First Order.” Rose began. “This person said that they knew about the Force and the Jedi and wanted to meet you. The way the person said this indicated at least to me that they’re being honest about their knowledge. I just wanted to tell you this and ask if you want to follow up on this. You know better than me when it comes to stuff like this. May the Force be with you, say hi to Finn for me!” 

The hologram fizzled out as the message ended and Rey had a look of eagerness on her face. 

Finn looked at Rey with weariness. “You sure this is not a scam? How do you know if it’s real or not?” 

Rey grinned. “A feeling.” 

“Of course.” Jannah said, rolling her eyes. 

… 

Poe walked to the large hangar bay where his Squadren and Wedge were going to meet him, his nervousness was still there but be knew if he wanted to feel better about it he had to talk it out with his team.  
Fighter ships lined the open area with crews repairing some of the ships while others waited to be flown. There were primarily X-Wings though A-Wings and Y-Wings were also there. He saw Black Squadren from a distance standing around his orange and white X-Wing.  
It felt good to see them again, memories of the days before Starkiller when it was still a Cold War and the Republic was still around came back to him. Those had been the days. He’d matured so much since then, the thrill seeking flyboy that only wanted to pilot his X-Wing would never have been able to lead a Resistance.  
Poe hoped they hadn’t changed much since they last met. 

“Hey… guys. What’s up?” Poe said, staring off very awkwardly. 

Jess walked over to him. “Poe! It’s been so long! We where so worried about you!” 

“I-I’m fine, Jess. It’s good to see you all again.” 

Wedge was looking at him as he was talking. “How’re you doing kid? After all that stuff on Exegol. I heard you’re leading the Resistance.” 

Poe nodded. “Yep. But… How are all of you, I mean, Snap’s gone now. How are any of you okay? 

Jess, Kare, and Wedge all took deep breaths as the subject they all knew was unavoidable came up.” 

Poe slumped over, almost feeling dizzy with the emotions he was facing. He knew that he could never say anything that could make the team feel better. 

Wedge put his hands tightly on Poe’s shoulders and looked him firmly in the eyes. It’s not your fault Poe, no one chooses who lives or dies in a war.” 

“We would never blame you for what happened!” Jess added. 

Kare Kun was hit almost as hard as Wedge was by Temmin’s death but she still held herself strongly. “Stop blaming yourself for his death, Poe. As his wife I know he wouldn’t want you to. It was the Final Order and the Sith that killed him, but we destroyed them all at Exegol. He’s been avenged.” 

Poe shook his head. “No, he hasn’t been avenged. He joined the Resistance to fight the First Order and until they’re all gone what he fought for didn’t matter.” 

Jess then reached out her hand. “Then come lead Black Squadron again. We’ll make sure the First Order losses.” 

Poe smiled a little but hesitated. “But I can’t, I need to be the head of the Resistance.” 

Jess grinned warmly. “I’m sure every once in a while high command would let you go have some fun for a while. From what I hear Aftab Ackbar is quite the leader himself, he could definitely fill in for you.” 

Poe grinned as well and took Jess’ hand. Everyone smiled as finally they knew that Black Squadron was back with a vengeance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I’m very sorry for the long waits! 8f you want to please comment with any criticism or whatever you think about the story! 
> 
> Also something I wanted to share besides this fan fic, I made a Finnrey discord server! Since to my knowledge we don’t have a discord I decided to put together a server where we can all chat! Feel free to join if you want but no pressure.  
> https://discord.gg/WvQ9v3d just copy the link and paste it into discord’s join server option.


	17. Who Is Ben Solo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben Solo thinks about how he has changed since he came back to the light side.

Ben Solo had never thought that he could actually do something meaningful. Especially now that he was stuck in this strange world. He knew that he was going to die on Exegol, and he preferred it to be that way. How could he possibly live with all the things he’d done as Kylo Ren? How could he see Chewie or Lando or Maz after he killed his own father, Han? How could he convince the Resistance to just ignore what he’d done and let him go free?   
However, what the Bendu had said did make sense.   
If he felt so bad about what he’d done then he should at least try to do something about it. If he wasn’t dead after all, then there must be some way to get out of this place. He could use his Force powers for good, as long as he kept a low profile.   
The Bendu looked at him with his wize old eyes and he seemed to be gazing at his very soul. 

“So, you’ve finally got out of that rut, eh?” The Bendu said, not being shy about how he could read Ben’s thoughts. “Well if you’re ready to take do something then I have a test for you.” 

“A test?” Ben asked. His mind focused on the possible ways that he could find a exit from his weird world. 

The Bendu grinned. “You think you were just going to leave this place right when you wanted? Before you can leave you must prove yourself.” The Bendu pointed out his large finger to Ben. “And to do that, Ben, you must realize for yourself who you are and what you fight for.” 

Ben shrugged. “I already know who I am. I’m Ben Solo. I’m the grandson of Anakin Skywalker and I-“ 

The Bendu interrupted him. “No, no, no. That’s who you think you were. Ben Solo’s just a name, and bloodlines don’t define you. Throughout your life you have been different versions of yourself. The naive and kind little boy who felt lonely and wanted his family to be with him more. The angsty and over confident teenager who acted out but didn’t want to hurt anybody. The broken man who relied on the dark side to fuel him, who was ruthless in his servitude to his master Snoke but still felt a pull to the light. Which one is Ben Solo?” As the Bendu said that last sentence he lightly tapped Ben with his finger. “Or… are you something else?” 

Ben sighed and thought through the question. Right now he didn’t feel like any of those. He just felt, blank. When he turned back to the light he felt as if he had been reborn. When he threw his crossguard lightsaber into the ocean it was as if he had Ben cleansed of his past, his persona of ‘Kylo Ren’ disappeared and what was left was him at his core. He remembered how the only thing on his mind was to save Rey from dying because of his mistakes. He remembered feeling relived, for the first time he had no doubt, no conflict. He knew what he had to do to make things right and that was his sole mission.   
Ben Solo had finally gotten the closure he needed from his father and mother, finally he understood how much his family loved him. That no they’d always love him and believed that he could turn his life around. After he had went and found one of the special TIE fighters the Empire had made that were capable of traveling through hyperspace he went to Bespin. Ben had remembered that his Uncle Lando had run that city for a long time, he also remembered Lando telling him that he had left a custom made blaster for that Lando had wanted him to take when he was ready. Ben Solo knew that the time was right for him to finally wield it.   
He’d used the blaster to take out the guards and storm Exegol, unfortunately he lost it in a fight against a guard right before the Knight of Ren had attacked him.   
Thinking of those moments when he had returned to the light, he realized that he was less serious than he’d thought. His cocky shrug when he pulled out a lightsaber from thin air when the Knights of Ren least expected it. How he had reacted to his long fall onto the chain with a sarcastic ‘ow’ when he gained his bearings.   
He certainly wasn’t that laid back when he was a young adult. Something about him had changed.   
One thing was for sure, he wanted to make his parents proud and make up for what he had done. No longer did he seek to get away from the legacy of his family, he was going to honor both the name Solo and the Skywalkers. Only now hw would follow in the footsteps of who his grandfather truly was not Darth Vader, but Anakin Skywalker. 

The Bendu gave a great smile. “I see you finally have an idea of who you are. When you complete all the tests given to you will fully understand yourself. Then you can return to the galaxy.” 

Ben Solo smiled as well. “I’m ready for whatever lies ahead.” He stepped forward. “What else do you have for me, I’m all ears!” 

“Confidence, a trait that’s very Solo.” The Bendu laughed. “You’ll need it, because now it is time for you to confront your inner darkness face to face.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear that Ben’s arc isn’t going to overshadow Finnrey! But I do feel that Ben Solo is important as he is a Skywalker. 
> 
> Thanks for reading this chapter!


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